PHILLIES: Halladay set for simulated start

If all goes well, Halladay could pitch again for the Phillies this season, and possibly beyond.

Halladay, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is set to take the next step in his return from shoulder surgery and will pitch a simulated game Saturday in Clearwater, Fla.

Halladay threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session before Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. Halladay said he was encouraged that his rehabilitation has gone well and hoped to pitch again this season.

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He had surgery on his right shoulder in May to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and remove a bone spur. He also has some fraying of the labrum. Because of the injury, Halladay pitched nothing like an ace and is 2-4 with an 8.65 ERA in seven starts this season.

“I’m not interested in coming back and pitching at the same level I was earlier this year,” he said. “I want to come back and pitch at a high level.”

Halladay earned $20 million this season and is set to become a free agent. The Phillies entered Wednesday 10 games under .500 and are one of the biggest disappointments in baseball. Halladay, who threw a no-hitter in the 2010 playoffs, said he’d like to return to the Phillies in 2014.

“Quite obviously, it’s my first choice if everything goes the way I feel it’s going to go,” he said.

The 35-year-old right-hander said he’s had no setback and was encouraged by his progress. There is no timetable for his return.

“I want to make sure that when I start my rehab assignment, I’m able to compete at a high level,” he said. “I don’t want to necessarily treat it as a spring training type of thing. I feel like I’m getting close to that now, where I can compete that way. I want to go out and pitch in those games and compete the same way I would here, so I know where I stand.”

The Phillies won five straight division titles from 2007-2011, including the 2008 World Series. Halladay went 21-10 and threw a perfect game against the Marlins in his 2010, his first season in Philadelphia. He’s 201-104 with a 3.37 ERA in 15 seasons with Toronto and Philadelphia.

He wants to finish strong and prove he can come close to regaining his ace form.

“I’m not worried about next year. I want to come back and pitch,” he said. “I just want to come back and pitch and be a part of things, be effective.”